The real meaning of inequality

During every election cycle our leaders conjure up conditions they claim are ruining our republic and can only be rectified with more laws, regulations, fees and taxes.

According to the progressive establishment, the most serious threat to our society at the moment is “inequality.” It is common knowledge that humans are not equal in height and weight, mental and physical attributes, skills and capabilities. In fact, it is reasonable to assume that inequality is the nature of man. To rail against human nature is absurd, yet no one questions the premise.

It is blatant and arrogant hypocrisy by the elite to denounce “inequality” while exempting themselves from many of the laws they inflict on the rest of us. Does equality mean salaries of pilots and doctors should be the same as those of bus drivers and bank tellers? Does equality mean we should all drive the same cars, wear the same clothes? The term “inequality” is vague and amorphous and their vision of “equality” is never defined, yet we acquiesce as regulations and taxes are increased and more of our wealth is re-distributed. If after a half century of a “war on poverty,” the scourge of “inequality” still exists, common sense dictates we should re-examine our priorities.

The success of government welfare programs is measured by how many people are added and not by how many drop out and become self reliant. What was once temporary “assistance” has become an “entitlement.” The inconvenient and undeniable truth is that a claim for equality of possessions and outcomes for all can be met only by a government with totalitarian powers. The Constitution only guarantees equality of opportunity. We ignore its tenets at our peril.

The French historian Alexis de Tocqueville, who wrote about his travels in the United States in his book Democracy in America in 1835, observed: “Americans are so enamored of equality that they would rather be equal in slavery than unequal in freedom.”